300 cops secure NBI, DOJ compounds - report

At least 300 police personnel were deployed early Friday morning to guard the National Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice for the preliminary investigation hearing of a Maguindanao mayor linked to the massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town last month. Radio dzBB’s Carlo Mateo reported that as of 7 a.m., the Manila Police District placed mobile patrol teams at both sides of a portion of Taft Avenue where the NBI headquarters is located. The DOJ was to hold the preliminary investigation of Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. for the November 23 Maguindanao massacre at 2 p.m. Friday. "Nakipagugnayan kami isang araw na [ang] nakaraan sa NBI at DOJ. Sinisigurado natin [na] walang mangyayari sa unang araw (We have coordinated with the NBI and DOJ since Thursday. We will make sure nothing untoward happens on the first day of the preliminary hearing)," MPD head Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay said in an interview on dzXL radio.

Magtibay said traffic police are also on hand to divert traffic away from the site if needed. NBI spokesman and Anti-Terrorism Unit head lawyer Ricardo Diaz said all systems are go to make sure Ampatuan, who he described as the "star of the show," will be brought to the hearing and back. "Sisiguraduhin namin [na] walang sinuman maka-aapekto sa aming pagdala [sa kanya] (We will make sure no one disrupts the transport)," he said. Mayor Ampatuan, detained at the NBI since November 26, was to be brought to the DOJ under tight security. Police barred vehicles from parking along the part of Taft Avenue where the NBI is located, even as NBI agents with high-powered firearms kept watch at the NBI gate. Magtibay also ordered police teams to secure the DOJ head office along Padre Faura Street. He likewise ordered security at nearby streets, including Orosa Street and United Nations Avenue. A separate report on dzXL radio said police were to close off a portion of Taft Avenue at noon to allow the safe transport of the mayor between the NBI and DOJ. - RSJ, GMANews.TV